yay! finally got my tickets.. at a discounted price too. haha. i'm sooo excited for AFA already.. gonna buy buy buy, shoot shoot shoot and have loads of fun. i'm wishing i had a 7D already, with a 580 ex ii flash and a 30 prime to tag along to the event, but unfortunately... i got no money. i'm definitely gonna see the dannychoo booth as well as KKnM and cospa and the K-ON seiyuus and try to get all the K-ON merch. haha. and mirai-chan too. i've not been posting lately as i'm rushing(still rushing, just that i'm stuck now) my assignments, which 1 of them is due next week. 
( PYTHON PROGRAMMING SUCKS ).

anyway... i'm addicted to a new song that has finally replace Don't Say Lazy...

AIMI is sooo hawt.




PS: i posted about the 2 shoots that occurred a few weeks back, but as i've nt completed the posts i decided not to make it public yet..

shot that while listening to Jay-Z's run this town.


anyway, it's the last week of october... which means........ 31st OCTOBER IS COMING!!!! 2 shoots on that day haha.. super excited liao.. wanna kope 7d and flash again and start strobing again. haha. but the end of october also means.... 3 MORE MONTHS TO ORD!!! WOOOT. Clearance should be coming in soon... so hopefully can quickly sign everything and get the hell out of that shit hole..

yesterday was the material hunting outing for the 3 teams.. i finally bought my wig, so all thats left now is to style it and i'm done.. hehe. met quite alot of new people that i only knew online before then.. and it is DAMN hard managing a group of 16 people that are mostly younger than me... -> i confirm cannot be secondary school teacher/relief teacher.

and my itouch had a meltdown. ZzZ. the input audio jack suddenly melted down giving off this soldering iron smell, and now i cant hear anything from my left ear piece.. gotta bring it to epicentre on weds to get it repaired so now i'm back to my ipod... GRRRRR... no anime in camp... ZOMFG..

soooo... tomorrow camp begins again.. no anime, so it's just rihanna, kanye west, jayz and the backstreet boys...

1. Just because someone has an expensive camera doesn’t mean that they’re a good photographer.
2. Always shoot in RAW. Always.
3. Prime lenses help you learn to be a better photographer.
4. Photo editing is an art in itself
5. The rule of thirds works 99% of the time. 
6. Macro photography isn’t for everybody.
7. UV filters work just as well as lens caps.
8. Go outside and shoot photos rather than spending hours a day on photography forums.
9. Capture the beauty in the mundane and you have a winning photograph.
10. Film isn’t better than digital.
11. Digital isn’t better than film.
12. There is no “magic” camera or lens.
13. Better lenses don’t give you better photos. 
14. Spend less time looking at other people’s work and more time shooting your own.
15. Don’t take your DSLR to parties. 
16. Girls dig photographers. 
17. Making your photos b/w doesn’t automatically make them “artsy”
18. People will always discredit your work if you tell them you “photoshop” your images. Rather, tell them that you process them in the “digital darkroom”.
19. You don’t need to take a photo of everything.
20. Have at least 2 backups of all your images. Like they say in war, two is one, one is none.
21. Ditch the neck strap and get a handstrap.
22. Get closer when taking your photos, they often turn out better.
23. Be a part of a scene while taking a photo; not a voyeur.
24. Taking a photo crouched often make your photos look more interesting.
25. Worry less about technical aspects and focus more on compositional aspects of photography.
26. Tape up any logos on your camera with black gaffers tape- it brings a lot less attention to you.
27. Always underexpose by 2/3rds of a stop when shooting in broad daylight.
28. The more photos you take, the better you get.
29. Don’t be afraid to take several photos of the same scene at different exposures, angles, or apertures. 
30. Only show your best photos.
31. A point-and-shoot is still a camera. 
32. Join an online photography forum.
33. Critique the works of others.
34. Think before you shoot. 
35. A good photo shouldn’t require explanation (although background information often adds to an image). * 
36. Alcohol and photography do not mix well.
37. Draw inspiration from other photographers but never worship them.
38. Grain is beautiful.
39. Ditch the photo backpack and get a messenger bag. It makes getting your lenses and camera a whole lot easier. 
40. Simplicity is key.
41. The definition of photography is: “painting with light.” Use light in your favor.
42. Find your style of photography and stick with it.
43. Having a second monitor is the best thing ever for photo processing.
44. Silver EFEX pro is the best b/w converter.
45. Carry your camera with you everywhere. Everywhere.
46. Never let photography get in the way of enjoying life.
47. Don’t pamper your camera. Use and abuse it.
48. Take straight photos.
49. Shoot with confidence.
50. Photography and juxtaposition are best friends. 
51. Print out your photos big. They will make you happy. 
52. Give your photos to friends.
53. Give them to strangers.
54. Don’t forget to frame them.
55. Costco prints are cheap and look great.
56. Go out and take photos with (a) friend(s). 
57. Join a photo club or start one for yourself.
58. Photos make great presents.
59. Taking photos of strangers is thrilling.
60. Candid>Posed.
61. Natural light is the best light.
62. 35mm (on full frame) is the best “walk-around” focal length.
63. Don’t be afraid to bump up your ISO when necessary.
64. You don’t need to always bring a tripod with you everywhere you go (hell, I don’t even own one).
65. It is always better to underexpose than overexpose.
66. Shooting photos of homeless people in an attempt to be “artsy” is exploitation.
67. You will find the best photo opportunities in the least likely situations.
68. Photos are always more interesting with the human element included.
69. You can’t “photoshop” bad images into good ones.
70. Nowadays everybody is a photographer.
71. You don’t need to fly to Paris to get good photos; the best photo opportunities are in your backyard.
72. People with DSLRS who shoot portraits with their grip pointed downwards look like morons.
73. Cameras as tools, not toys.
74. In terms of composition, photography and painting aren’t much different.
75. Photography isn’t a hobby- it’s a lifestyle.
76. Make photos, not excuses.
77. Be original in your photography. Don’t try to copy the style of others.
78. The best photographs tell stories that begs the viewer for more.
79. Any cameras but black ones draw too much attention.
80. The more gear you carry around with you the less you will enjoy photography.
81. Good self-portraits are harder to take than they seem.
82. Laughter always draws out peoples’ true character in a photograph.
83. Don’t look suspicious when taking photos- blend in with the environment. 
84. Landscape photography can become dull after a while.
85. Have fun while taking photos.
86. Never delete any of your photos.
87. Be respectful when taking photos of people or places.
88. When taking candid photos of people in the street, it is easier to use a wide-angle than a telephoto lens. 
89. Travel and photography are the perfect pair. 
90. Learn how to read a histogram.
91. A noisy photo is better than a blurry one.
92. Don’t be afraid to take photos in the rain.
93. Learn how to enjoy the moment, rather than relentlessly trying to capture the perfect picture of it.
94. Never take photos on an empty stomach.
95. You will discover a lot about yourself through your photography.
96. Never hoard your photographic insight- share it with the world. 
97. Never stop taking photos
98. Photography is more than simply taking photos, it is a philosophy of life
99. Capture the decisive moment
100. Write your own list.


thanks to kwsw, for sending the link to me

taken from www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/823998

1) Canon 7D
2) Canon 580ex II
3) Canon EF 28mm f1.8 USM
4) Nissin di866
5) Crumpler 8 million dollar home
6) Crumpler industry disgrace canon ver.
7) Apple macbook pro



total price - S$8600++

dammit.

it sucks to be sick... yeah you get MC you stay at home can do whatever you want.. that's real good. but.. the sick feeling u get, just drives away any mood to do anything. you just feel like you wanna lie down and sleep all the way. -.-

but no i shan't do that. i got assignments to complete, anime to watch, photos to postprocess, and i've also gotta plan my shoot for 31st.

oh yeah, on the 31/10, i'll be heading down to chinese garden for a ranmao shoot, lawliet - ranmao.. hah. then i'll rush over to sentosa, hopefully before 11am to join the redmoon shoot. i hope i hope i hope my batteries can last that long..

recently shot kagamiku again, this time with a failed lightbox,




oh and YES!!! I FINALLY GOT A K-ON! SHIRT!!! WOOHOO!!

my 1st photoshoot ever!~


haha. unfortunately the cosplayers said they cosfked. so i can't post in sgcafe.
kwsw brought his 7d which i borrowed together with minzhui's 580ex ii on a lightstand. then we took turns taking pictures with the 7d using the 580 as a slave flash strobe. which produced results like the one above. after viewing rescend's shots, i feel that i'm more in tuned to strobe shots, where u have light control and u can have very stark contrasts in a shot. i'm sooooo looking forward to next year when i get mt own 7D and 580 ex ii. and probably a canon camera crumpler strap and a new camera bag and and.... i'll be uber broke. =S

 Just had my Canon Photomarathon 2009 right after the Kuroshitsuji shoot the day before.

I woke up at like 5 plus and got ready with swollen red eyes, rushed down to suntec and registered. they gave us a free Canon shirt and a name tag. then i met up with KWSW, MZ, ravener and evilways and we continued to camp in the hall after that.

at 9am we were given our 1st theme of the day, TOGETHERNESS. 1st thing that came to my mind was.... WTH? soo... anyway, we proceeded to venture around suntec and taking random shots of stuff trying to fit the theme TOGETHERNESS.. (facepalm) in the end we came up with pretty average ideas and ate breakfast at Macs.

so anyway, the pic i submitted was...



kinda no meaning right? haha.

then we went back to the hall to upload photos and waited for the 2nd theme.. by 12.30 they announced the next theme (the theme is... BOOMZ!) haha not. the next theme was MOTION and this time i had quite a few ideas... however, as we all got lazy and didn't want to leave the hall area, we ended up playing with light trails, escalators and for me light writing...



i think this was my best shot out of the lot. and it ain't creative enough at all.. LOL.

by the time i submitted my 2nd theme, i was feeling pretty sleepy.. (what to do.... photoshoot then sleep afew hours then rush to suntec already.) and so by the time the 3rd theme came out, i was feeling pretty shagged and out of ideas.. by the way the theme was ENERGY. so yeah... with a huge lack of ENERGY, we had to find something that represent ENERGY.. so 1st thoughts that struck us was batteries, red bull, coke/100+/etc... then i decided.. why not play with the flash?

hehehe.... so i borrowed KWSW's 7D again, and MZ's 580 ex ii and went to a dark corner to play... at 1st things didnt come out right... but then our dear art director, Evilways decided to use a flash to create a form of explosion by using a diffuser and firing at max power. and so out comes this....



in the end... i didn't win anything. haha. but it was 1 heck of an experience, plus i gotta meet a real pro who gave me really good ideas and insights into photography, besides the fact that he kept poisoning me with 7D and L lenses. haha.

i really gotta get my 7D soon! with a 580 ex ii flash and battery grip!! XD

 

and so i've completed the 2nd box (the one on the right) in 3 days.. it's a "improved" version whereby the sides are mostly joined together now as compared to the 1st one. one of them is going to resolutespy on AFA for 15 bucks. YAY i can recover part of my cost!

on another note, AFA has hatsune miku performing as well as the K-On! Seiyuu's popping by for some Q&A and live dubbing session. i HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE HOPE there's K-On! merch to get. and i'm soo gonna go broke again..

things i'm looking out for at AFA:

1)K-On! Merch
2)Cospa stuff
3)KKNM stuff
4)Mirai-chan!!!
5)Danny Choo
6)May'n
7)Shoko-tan!
8)PG 00 Raiser

might actually spend 1k here... -.-


and i'm most probably gonna wear my Mio Tee and all my Mio badges and carrying my Mio Nendo on my cam!!!!! WOOOT.

but why thai subs? anyway... it's a very very nice song imo... <333 it very much...
the song reminds me of my punk days but in jap.. lol.. kk nvm i'm talking crap already...



and so... the dragon boat thing is over... i'm lazy to post process so i'm gonna take my time.. as usual cosplay shoots will have priority over this sort of things... and my new module of programming (python script - wtf?) just started today.. my assignment is to make some sort of text based dungeons and dragons kinda game and a 3D runnable game demo... kapeesh.. gonna be busy these 3 months alr...

ANYWAY..........




gonna get this once i get my pay!!!

resprayed my tonfas today.. now it's looking pretty new again.. i also started on a friend's hibari box as well since he asked for it... i did almost all of it today in 1 day. much faster than the 1st time... it's gonna be a busy week next week, with classes starting again (OMFG PROGRAMMING AGAIN!?!?!??!?!?!?!) and some dragon boat thingy that im gonna shoot for NS, then a shoot on friday and a photomarathon on sat... woots. weds and sun are my only free days next week. GOOD BYE BOREDOM!

and it's OCTOBER!!! new figs coming this month... can't wait for my BRS and Mio!!!!! as well as my K-On! Tees and cardcases!! WAHAHA.

Release Date : December 2009
Price : 16800 YEN, roughly 260 SGD


i wanna buy!!! but i dont have that much money to spare... it's so awesome... i love the details on the spear and shield. dammit.. should i get it or not?

finally bought the paint.. Nippon Pearl Purple.. it's light violet on white base and dark purple on black base.. so had to spray black 1st then spray that paint over.. took me about... err.... monday till today.. so about 4 days... lol. to make such a small box.. 5x5x5cm in size. -___________-

 





does it look like the actual anime one??

Update on my box weapon...

it's near completion with the frames done.. all that's left is to spray and stick.



ive also decided to add the cloud badge at the bottom of the box.. since i've never seen what's underneath before.. (see the right most frame one?) haha



gonna hunt for the purple paint tomorrow..

In process of building my box weapon for the EOY event in december (OMG i still don't have a wig...)
gonna look for purple paint during the weekends to spray the box and then i can finally add the shiny bits and pieces left.



so this is what it looks like at 1st.



and about 10 mins later...



and the small pieces being made...



and finally this...



got a few more steps to go... and then im done with my 2nd prop for my cosplay for this year. haha.

 got back to blogging again.. no idea where my old blog went to so... yeah.
i'm currently at a loss of words as to what to write so maybe i should leave it as that for today.. hah.